81 days (Disney Craft)

I've been planning on making a paper chain to help countdown the final 100 days until we leave for Disneyland.

Today was that day.

But apparently I can't count.

Turns out today is only 81 days until we leave.

That error works for me.....I'm 19 days closer to visiting the Mouse.

Anyways, I decided to use pipe cleaners rather than paper.

It's pretty simple, but here are some photos to help guide you:

pick out colors:

cut pipe cleaners in half:

make a circle, add another and another and another....

admire your hard work

And where did I hang my Disney chain? Right outside the front door, so we can pull off a chain every day when we head out of the house.

 

 



total cost: $3.28
total time: 15 min.

Now go have an awesome day!

Sew

Happy Monday everyone.

I'm going to sew a new throw pillow cover this week. Using that cute fabric in the top picture.

Now that might not sound like much to most of you. But it is.

I bought a sewing machine about 10 months ago. And I have not even opened the box.

Last summer I ordered an online class to encourage me to take that sewing machine out of the box and stitch a mini-album out of random papers and fabric. It would have been adorable. If I had ever logged into the classroom and started the project. But I did not.

Last week I was wandering around my favorite scrapbook/fabric shop, touching all the beautiful fabrics. And I decided this was it! I was going to buy some fabric fat quarters and use that sewing machine. So I spent a crazy amount of time picking out 2 fabrics.

This week I'm going to sew a cover for that old grey pillow (see bottom picture).

Yes! I am!

I just have to go buy thread.

Wish me luck! I'll share a photo when I get it done, like a proud mama!

Do you have something you would like to make/do that you have put off accomplishing for a while? Share with me!

Playtime

Meet my new play journal.

 

 

I made (well, really I am in the process of making) it using the Restoration Hardware Fall 2012 Source Book. It came in the mail a few months ago and I really wanted to alter it and make some kind of a journal/altered book with it. So, now that I'm setting aside more time for painting (January goals), I decided to get going on my idea.

 

 

 

I glued 3 pages together with Mod Podge, just a quick swipe of the edges with a paintbrush.  I did this to make the pages sturdier.

 

 

 

Then 1 brushed on a thin layer of gesso. In that perfectly imperfect way that I'm so fond of. So the images are peeking through and the edges may or may not even have any gesso at all. It's not meant to be a pretty book, but rather one that looks a little beaten up and touched a lot, and loved.

 

 

 

My kids thought I was nuts as they watched me gluing and painting last night. But I actually enjoyed it. No thinking, yet still getting to move paint around (well, Mod Podge and gesso) with a brush.

 

 

Then, this afternoon, I painted my first piece in the journal. Nothing fancy. I scraped some paint splotches using an old gift card, then drew some big circles to make floweres. I painted the circles in, added stems, and brushed on a layer of Mod Podge on top (I just felt like it needed to be shiny). Finally, I added some details with oil pastels and Pitt pens and stamps. And I had fun. And I didn't worry about it being "good enough" for my new journal.

 

 

All of this made my heart very, very happy.

 

Now my wish is for you to do something this week to make your heart very, very happy!

 



Clay Hearts

Hi everyone.

I made these hearts a few weeks ago, but have been tweaking them ever since. Now that I'm finally happy with them, I thought I would share.

I bought a big bucket of Crayola Air-Dry Clay (Michael's 40% off coupon). At first, I thought I would make ornaments for the Christmas tree. Then I changed my mind and decided on New Year's Day ornaments. Then I changed my mind again. Anyone else do this, or am I the only crazy one?

I rolled out the dough and tried out a few cookie cutters and settled on the plain heart. I pushed a pencil through a corner of the heart, to add a ribbon for hanging. Then I pulled out some letter stamps and stamped the word "happy" in each one. Super simple!

Then you just have to be patient and wait for them to air dry. It takes about 2 or 3 days. I am not patient though. So I tried to microwave them. I doesn't work. Don't even bother to try. They just bubbled and baked uneven and fell apart. Then I let the rest air dry. See, I can learn from my mistakes.

Then I painted them.

With acrylic paint. But I wasn't crazy about the colors.

Then I added a layer of gesso.

Then I painted again with watercolor crayons. Better.

Then I got wild and finger painted the backs and sides with india ink. Oh. This is liked.

So then I added a layer of india ink to the front, and used a paper towel to blot some of the ink off. This left them different shades of pinks and purples with a hint of shininess. Now I'm really happy.

So, today's lesson is to try something new. I never use my india inks. But I'm really glad that I gave them a try. And I like the way they look finger painted.

Kinda perfectly imperfect.

Just my style.

Have a great day.

star wreath

One of the projects I made this past week was a giant star wreath.

I got the idea from Little Bit Funky, but I used thin wood dowels rather than yardsticks.

I bought 5 dowels (5/8 inch/orange tip) at Hobby Lobby for $0.59 each, and a tube of yellow paint for $0.99. That means this was a $4 project. Gotta love that!

And it was super simple. I just painted the dowels yellow, then added a brown wash on top (brown paint watered down). I wiped off most of the brown wash, then decided it was too dark so I used my finger to add more yellow paint in certain areas to brighten it up again.

 I played with the dowels until I liked the way my star looked. Then I hot glued the pieces together.  All that was left to do was add a ribbon and hang it up outside.

I had some extra popsicle sticks left over from another project, so now I'm working on making smaller stars to hang from a tree in the front yard.

It's a great project for little hands to work on also. None of  my kids wanted to help though (way to mature for that).  Just do the hot glue part yourself (I always burn myself with hot glue).

Hope your Monday is going great!